One Thing Leads to Another
by BlackMailer
Summary: My very first DC fic, and the first fic I've ever finished. Hope it turned out okay. SUMMARY: It's nearing Christmas time, and Ayumi has invited the Detective League to go skating. What do you think will happen when Conan unwillingly brings up some memori


**One Thing Leads to Another**

A Christmas Fic 

(Fluff, Randomness, and Corny Jokes Included)

**By BlackMailer**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed/Meitantei Conan or any related characters (e.g. Edogawa Conan, Yoshida Ayumi, Mouri Ran), plots, etc. They are property of and copyrighted by Gosho Aoyama/Shogakukan. I just like to wite pweety fics and draw pweety fan-awt of it! **

_Okay, so I know it's not anywhere near Christmas yet, but I got this really cute idea while I was ice-skating at an artificial rink a week ago. I was muttering lines and acting out all this stuff while I was gliding around. I just hope nobody noticed..._

_Anyway, hope you enjoy it. It's the first fic I've ever finished, and my very first DC fic, so don't expect it to be too good...but, what can I say? I can't help but love it; it's like a child to me!_

_Without further ado, I present to you...dum dum DUM! My mastah-piece!_

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"Ran-neechan, are you coming?"

Ran Mouri poked her head out her bedroom door. "Of course I am," she replied, walking out with a winter jacket half on. "Who else do you think volunteered to chaperone you guys? Tousan?" She gave a laugh and stuck her other arm into the sleeve as they headed for the door. "Do you have your mittens?"

"Check."

"Mmm...scarf?"

_"Yes."_

"Double layers of underwear?"

_"Neechan!" _

"OK, OK. Just kidding. C'mon, Mrs. Yoshida must be waiting." Ran whipped out her keys and locked the door behind them.

Conan Edogawa groaned, tugging at the thick sleeves of his jacket. It wasn't even _that _cold out, but Ran had insisted on him bundling up. _She just likes to mother me, doesn't she, _he thought as they waved the Yoshida car over to the sidewalk.

"Hi, Conan-kun," Ayumi chirped as they slid inside. She nudged Mitsuhiko and Genta over to the side so he could fit. "I'm glad you could come. Learning to skate will be so much fun!"

Conan shrugged. Christmas was on the way, but he wasn't feeling as much of the Christmas spirit as the others were. _I can't believe I let Ayumi-chan talk me into going with them. Yeesh. Hanging around all these little kids is going to totally brainwash me one day. Next thing you know I'll be dancing around and singing along to Barney._

They reached the lake in a few minutes, and Ran hustled the Junior Detective League out of the car. After waving good-bye to Mrs. Yoshida, who promised she'd pick them up in two hours, they sat down at a nearby bench and tugged their skates on.

"I'm going ahead," Conan said after he'd put his on. He was eager to get away from the first-graders, who were in need of Ran's help in putting on their skates (especially Genta, who'd forced his right foot into his left skate and wound up with it stuck inside).

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Conan-kun?" Ran tied Ayumi's left lace up. "You might fall."

"Nah, I'll be fine." He waved and trudged off through the snow.

Once he reached the lake's edge, he couldn't contain himself any longer. He leaped onto the ice and began gliding across its dark white surface. He had missed skating. _Shinichi _had been an excellent skater, astounding everybody with the moves he made up himself.

Not that he was really such a big fan of skating. It was just another thing he was good at. He much preferred soccer, but there was something about the ice that just let all your worries slip away.

Conan sighed. Like the fact that the Black Organization had turned his internal clock back a decade. Like the fact that he was getting nowhere in what was probably the biggest case of his life.

Like the fact that he was making his closest friend worry about _him._

"Conan-kun, that's so cool! I didn't know you already knew how to skate!"

"Huh?" He turned abruptly. Mitsuhiko was wobbling his way onto the ice. "Oh, y-yeah. I just learned last winter. I don't know much."

"But you're making us all look like complete babies!" complained Genta, falling flat on his behind on his first step out. _"Oof!"_

"That's okay. Conan-kun will teach us—right?" Ayumi slid out and gave him an innocent, pleading, so-hard-to-say-no-to smile.

"Huh?" he said again. "Oh...yeah, sure." _What can I do? _Conan helped Genta up and stood in front of them. "You should just try to balance. Bend your knees, okay? Don't straighten up. Keep your weight even, and push off with equal force on both sides." He demonstrated. "Like this."

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko eagerly followed, but Genta was having a few problems. Getting back up again, for instance.

Ran watched them as she slowly put on her own skates. _Conan-kun is teaching his friends how to skate? That's nice... Well, I better go help out. _She stood up and in no time, was beside the kids and their newly appointed skating assistant.

"You want to hold your arms out like _this"—_Ran lifted Ayumi's arms from her sides—"so you can balance easier. OK?"

"OK!" Ayumi said cheerfully, taking baby steps across the ice.

"And bend your knees a little bit more!"

"Yeah! Hey, I'm doing it!" Ayumi crowed triumphantly, skidding to a stop. "Thank you, neechan! You're a good teacher!"

"Not as good as Conan-kun." Ran smiled fondly at her young charge. "He's the one who got you started."

"Yeah, well—" Conan said modestly. "Um, Ran-neechan, would you mind if I went over to the far side of the lake for a while? I'm just gonna practice by myself."

Ran frowned. "Hmm...I don't know. Are you _sure _you can handle yourself?"

He nodded. "Trust me. I'll be fine." Skating off, Conan gave a big _Phew! _"Finally, I get rid of the kids."

He moved out just a little bit further and took a deep breath. Time to see if he still had it.

Moving quickly, he wasted no time in performing high spins and jumps as he sailed across the frozen lake. Well, having a small body gave him _one _advantage—he was lighter, and therefore could do the flying stunts more easily. He dared to close his eyes for just a moment, savoring the cold frosty air and the exhilaration of being in the middle of it all. Now _this _was skating.

"Conan-kun, that's _amazing."_

"Huh?" he said for the third time that day. _Very _articulate. _Just _the kind of vocabulary an aspiring detective genius should possess.

Ran skated over. "I thought you said you didn't know that much about skating," she said suspiciously, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms. "Where did you learn all of that?"

_Uh-oh. Here we go. The old you're-Shinichi-aren't-you routine. _"Uh, well, I watch the competitions on TV a lot," he said lamely.

_Nice._

"Oh, come on. I know skating isn't something you just pick up from TV—and I should know. And you couldn't have learned all that much in just one winter either."

"Um, I uh, took extra lessons?"

"Just admit it, Conan." Ran bent down and gave him a smile. The kind that was cheerful at first and malicious a second after. "You're..."

_Oh, help._

"...training to be a professional skater, aren't you?"

The _professional _fell stunned onto his back. _Well, isn't that a surprise. _"How'd you guess?" Conan asked, faking guilt as he stood back up.

"It just looks like you're really serious about skating. And here I was, thinking _soccer_ was what you really liked!" Ran laughed. "I guess I don't know my Conan-kun as well as I thought."

_No. But you know _Shinichi-kun_ better than _I _thought you would, _Conan sighed inwardly.

"So, do you have any plans? The Olympics, for instance?" Ran began to make a figure-eight.

"Uh, well, maybe...I haven't really thought about it yet. I've been practicing really hard, though."

"Hey, why don't you do a couple routines for me? You know, so I can see a master at work." Ran grinned.

"Huh?" _Oh, for the love of—_

"Please, Conan-kun?"

"Well...OK." Conan began a routine he hoped Ran had forgotten she'd watched Shinichi perform. When he reached the end of the final sit-spin, his only audience member burst into applause.

"Conan-kun, you're fantastic. I think you're going to make a great champion skater someday." Then she winked slyly at him. "And every famous skater needs a skating partner, right?" Her eyes locked onto Ayumi, who was chasing Mitsuhiko and Genta around the ice. "I think you and Ayumi would look really good together."

"Neechan!" Conan looked away to hide his embarrassment. His gaze wandered across the banks—

--and stopped at a familiar black-and-white object.

"What's a soccer ball doing _here?" _Conan picked it up and tossed it around. All of a sudden, a great idea formed in his mind.

No. Too risky. There was no way he could get it past Ran.

Conan glanced at her. She was still engrossed in the kids' game of tag. If she wasn't paying attention, maybe, just maybe, he could get away with it.

_Now._

Taking a breath, he dropped the ball over his shoulder. As it fell, his right heel shot back and kicked the ball _up _over his head. And as the ball dropped in front of him this time, he kicked his right foot up, sending it spinning higher into the air. Almost at the exact same time, he lifted his left foot from the ground and propelled himself forward, twirling in midair. As he landed, he caught the revolving soccer ball in his hands.

Ran whirled. She had seen it all from the corner of her eye. But had she seen _correctly? _Surely a seven-year-old kid couldn't have performed such a complex move as that. Especially when the move had been created by one Shinichi Kudo.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Shin-kun, I'm ready." Ran stared at the vastness of the lake. She wasn't even sure if she could skate; how was she supposed to make it to the other side? Knowing that her friend was just as bad, though, helped a little. Just a little._

"_I'm not so sure about this," Shinichi said, sounding _very_ unsure, as he staggered up to the edge. "I can't believe I let you talk me into skating."_

"_Well, we gotta learn sometime, right?" Ran blinked at him as she noticed just _what_ he was carrying under his arm. "Um, Shin-kun? What's with the soccer ball?"_

"_Comfort object," he replied shortly, not looking up. _

"_A..._comfort _object?" Ran couldn't help bursting into laughter, although she was sure he was joking. "I'm just surprised it isn't a Sherlock Holmes plushie."_

"_Hey! No way!" Shinichi glared. "That was last month."_

_Ran giggled. "Enough with the mock-evil looks. C'mon, let's try it." She took one cautious step onto the ice, then another. "This isn't so bad...come _on, _Shin-kun!"_

_Shinichi gave her a skeptical look. "I...don't know. Maybe I should sit this one out." He backed away._

"Shin-kun..."

"_Uh-uh."_

_Ran stepped back onto the bank. "You're really scared, aren't you?" she said slowly. She was surprised; she hadn't thought he was scared of anything. "Well...that's okay. Everyone gets scared sometimes."_

_He still didn't look very convinced._

"_Like Sonoko-chan's scared of bugs. And Megure-keibu's scared of serial killers. And...don't tell anyone, but...I'm scared of the dark."_

_Shinichi looked up. "Really?"_

_Ran nodded vigorously. "Yeah...So, are you willing to try? It's not scary, I promise."_

"_Well...OK." Shinichi stepped forward tentatively on the ice, still clutching his ball for dear life. Then suddenly, he flipped the ball back over his shoulder, kicked it up and over his head, kicked it up higher again, and sprung forward in a spin before setting down and grabbing the ball from the vibrating air._

"_Bet you didn't know I was so talented," he smirked teasingly, bouncing the ball. "You have been given the honor of witnessing Shinichi Kudo's signature move."_

_Ran could only gape, mouth wide open._

"_Oh! You know what? I just got you to confess your deepest, darkest fear! Emphasis on _dark." _He grinned. "I'm sure Sonoko-chan will be interested to hear this..."_

"_You—you—you _ahou!" _Ran shot him her worst death glare and sliced her leg through the air, sweeping him off his feet. _

"_Aaugh!"_

"_I'm gonna kill you, Shinichi! And if you mention a word of this to _anyone _I will kill you some more!" _

"_How can you kill someone who's already—"_

"_Shut UP!"_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Conan-kun," Ran began slowly.

"Y-yeah?" He froze.

"Where did you learn that? The only person I know who can do that is Shinichi-kun..." She trailed off.

_Oh, great. She saw me. _"Uh, he taught it to me."

"When?"

"Uh...uh..." _I'm not getting out of this one too easily. _"He came over while you were at karate practice last week."

Ran looked hurt. "He came over and didn't tell me?" She backed over to the bench and sat down. "And you didn't tell me either?"

Conan approached cautiously. This was the time when Ran could either burst into tears or start breaking things. Honestly, he didn't know what would be worse. "Sorry, neechan. He didn't want me to tell you...he thought you might worry about him."

"Well, doesn't he know that the fact that I barely ever hear from him _already _worries me!" Ran yelled, more frustrated than angry. "I mean, he's always wrapped up in some case or another...with Christmas on the way too...and the least he could do would be to give me a call now and then...I have no idea at all how he's doing; he could be hurt or dead for all I know and I'd have no way of finding out..." She shook her head, tears misting her blue eyes.

Conan crawled up on the bench beside her. He said nothing for a while, just sat there and thought.

"Neechan?" he said quietly.

"Yes?" Ran sniffled and wiped her eyes on her mittens.

"Shinichi-niisan told me he was going to call you for Christmas. It...was supposed to be a surprise. But I thought you'd want to hear it now...especially since you're so worried." Conan kicked his heels against the bench and looked away. "I think Niisan would understand if I broke my promise."

Ran gave a watery smile. "Thank you, Conan-kun," she said, pulling him into a quick hug. "That means a lot to me. Don't worry, I'm not mad at _you..._but when he _does _call I'm gonna let him have it. That ahou." She stood up, grinning. "Anyway, let's not keep your friends waiting. Why don't we stop for hot chocolate or something before Mrs. Yoshida comes to pick us up?"

He nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good."

_How could I have forgotten about calling Ran for Christmas? _Conan wondered. _I better make it up to her. She might not know it, but I miss her more than she misses me..._

_Funny. All this came out just because of skating. If I hadn't agreed to go, I might never have found that ball. If I hadn't found the ball and done that move then Ran-chan might've never said anything...and then I wouldn't have known how she felt._

_One thing always leads to another, I guess. _

And as the five of them walked towards the hot chocolate van, Conan decided he would have to prepare a pair of earplugs when he _did _call.

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_The End_

_...unless you want me to make more! I probably won't get too many reviews for this, but I'll still love it anyway...so just click that little button and type some nice reviews to me! I'll love ya for it! (Any negative comments and I will have Athrun Zala come and terminate you with his Gundam. And yes, before you say anything about it, I KNOW it's hard to imagine Conan figure-skating…I just thought the idea was amusing.)_


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